WHO extends travel restrictions on Pakistan for another three months

The World Health Organisation WHO extended travel bans on Pakistan for an additional three months highlighting the countrys ongoing risk of a polio breakout ARY News reportedThe decision was made during a meeting of the World Health Organisation WHOconvened Emergency Committee for the 2005 International Health Regulations which monitors the spread of the poliovirus worldwideThe committee voiced worries about Pakistans attempts to eradicate polio by reaching a large number of children It also emphasised the shortcomings in Pakistans and Afghanistans attempts to end polio according to ARY News a Pakistani channelIt stressed that the ongoing risk of a polio epidemic in Pakistan is underscored by recent favourable environmental tests from Peshawar and KarachiThe committee noted that since the last meeting a fresh case of Wild Poliovirus Type 1 WP1 had been discovered in Pakistan bringing the total for 2023 to 2 cases Both incidents happened in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa KP provinces Bannu districtiquestiquestAlthough the action plan in southern KP has resulted in 160000 more children being vaccinated the context remains challenging iquestiquest including political instability insecurity in some areas with frontline workers requiring police patrols to accompany them and vaccination boycottsiquest the committee added as reported by ARY NewsIn Afghanistan since the last meeting there have been five new WPV1 cases reported all from Nangarhar province the emergency committee said iquestiquestAny setback in Afghanistan poses a risk to the programme in Pakistan due to high population movementiquest it warnedThe emergency committee issued a warning that there was a continuing risk of WPV1 reemergence into the southern region due to continuous transmission in eastern Afghanistan crossborder expansion into Pakistan and a significant population of unvaccinated a pool of unvaccinated zerodose children in southern AfghanistanAll travellers should receive the full polio vaccine according to the WHOs International Travel and Health Within 4 weeks to 12 months after travel residents and guests staying longer than 4 weeks from affected areas should take an additional dose of OPV or inactivated polio vaccine IPV ARY News reportedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever